June 25, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



625 



within the boundaries set by the efficient 

 working of the established pattern. 



Looking at the animal kingdom from the 

 behavioristie side, most animal activities are 

 compounded of two factors: (1) innate and 

 heritable factors (reflexes, instincts, and the 

 like), and (2) acquired modifications of the 

 inherited patterns (culminating in docility 

 and intelligence). In some animal phyla the 

 first component is dominant, in others the 

 second. And the differentiation of an appa- 

 ratus adequate for a highly refined and very 

 elaborate instinctive behavior complex may 

 preclude the development of the more labile 

 modifiable types, as appears to be the case in 

 insects, higher fishes, and to a less extent 

 birds. The structural patterns serving the 

 higher intelligent types of behavior have not 

 been evolved from those lower brains exhibit- 

 ing highly differentiated and stabilized in- 

 herited patterns correlated with complex in- 

 stincts, but rather from more generalized 

 forms which have remained more plastic 

 (from the evolutionary standpoint) because 

 less of their material has passed on into the 

 mature form of tissue. 



The higher forms retain their dominant 

 position and continue advance in this 

 direction because parallel with the elabora- 

 tion of their stable, heritable nervous and 

 instinctive patterns they retain sufficient 

 labile nervous tissues of the " young " and 

 plastic type to enable each individual to make 

 his own adaptations to a great variety of 

 environmental conditions and to profit by 

 this experience. 



C. JuDSON Hereick 



The Univeesity op Chicago 



EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS REPRE- 

 SENTED IN THE MELLON INSTITUTE 



"It is not so much to know how to direct 

 research men as it is to know where to find 

 them." — Old chemical proverb. 



An inquiry which is received frequently by 

 the administration of the Mellon Institute is, 

 "Where do you obtain your research chem- 



ists ? " It is a familiar truth that there is a 

 serious scarcity of men of demonstrated re- 

 search ability; and since, ceteris paribus, the 

 institute adheres to the policy of starting new 

 investigational work only as competent men 

 are available, the question is, therefore, of 

 scientific interest. It can not, however, be 

 answered except with certain conditional stip- 

 ulations. In the first place, there is a diver- 

 sity of opinion as to the basic qualifications 

 for research, and particularly for industrial 

 research. Then, there is the requisite of con- 

 sidering the exact nature of the investigation 

 and the definite type of researcher needed 

 therefore. And, finally, there must be borne 

 in mind the fact that the finding of every 

 research man is attended with difficulty 

 because it frequently involves the gift of 

 prophecy on the part of the searcher — or, at 

 least, the application of a proleptic study 

 which is at present in an inchoate condition. 

 The supply of men capable of working at 

 high efficiency as scientific investigators has 

 been, and probably always will be, well below 

 the demand; and scientists having the 

 requisites and spirit of the researcher are, 

 indeed, difficult to find even by ones widely 

 experienced in the direction of research. 

 Perhaps the most effective instrument for the 

 recognition of investigational keenness is the 

 comparative method, but the study of its use 

 is still in its infancy. 



On account of the extraordinary importance 

 of new ideas, particular emphasis should al- 

 ways be laid upon locating and supporting 

 brilliant investigators. Such individuals can 

 best be found in the universities, although 

 it should be the ambition of every research 

 director to attract, rather than to seek, quali- 

 fied scientific investigators. The function of 

 the imiversity is to operate with the benefi- 

 cent idea of increasing the sum of hmnan 

 knowledge, and among its most valuable 

 products are those young men of initiative 

 who will work for the exercise of the investi- 

 gative instinct and the pleasure of over- 

 coming diffieidties. Dr. Eobert Kennedy 

 Duncan once said: 



